🚀 go-pugleaf

Mike-- 

Whoa, whoa, if you don't need to work with text on the page, then the best way to do it is to use InDesign tagged text and InDesign tables.  

InDesign tables can be entirely specified in tagged text, "float" in a text stream, and can automatically adjust their own height. The performance advantages of using tagged text for this outweight the somewhat awkward behavior of the tagged text import/export filters. 

Here's a fairly simple example. Copy it to a text editor, save it as text-only, and place it in InDesign. You should see the two-column layout something like what you've been looking for. If it doesn't work, it's probably because I've had to mess with the markup a bit to get it to display here. If that's the case, let me know and I'll send it to you. 

Don't let the length of the file fool you--most of it is just repeated cell formatting in the table (which an automated--i.e., XSL--approach could add during the pre-page layout process). 

<ASCII-WIN> <Version:2><FeatureSet:InDesign-Roman><ColorTable:=<Black:COLOR:CMYK:Process:0,0.000 

000,0,1><Black:COLOR:CMYK:Process:0,0,0,1>> <DefineParaStyle:heading\_one=<Nextstyle:heading\_one><cTypeface:Bold><cSize:20><pSpaceA 

fter:12>> <DefineParaStyle:body\_text=<Nextstyle:body\_text>> <DefineParaStyle:inline table=<BasedOn:body\_text><Nextstyle:inline  

table><pSpaceBefore:12><pSpaceAfter:12>> <DefineParaStyle:subhead\_column\_one=<Nextstyle:subhead\_column\_one><cTypeface:Bold><pRightInden 

t:6>> <DefineParaStyle:row\_one=<Nextstyle:row\_one><pRightIndent:6>> <DefineParaStyle:subhead\_column\_two=<BasedOn:subhead\_column\_one><Nextstyle:subhead\_column\_two>& 

lt;pLeftIndent:6><pRightIndent:0>> <DefineParaStyle:row\_two=<Nextstyle:row\_two><pLeftIndent:6>> <ParaStyle:heading\_one>Heading 1 <ParaStyle:body\_text>This is an example markup for Mike Mepham. <ParaStyle:inline  

table><TableStart:2,2<tCellDefaultCellType:Text><tOuterLeftStrokeWeight:0><tO 

uterRightStrokeWeight:0><tOuterTopStrokeWeight:0><tOuterBottomStrokeWeight:0><tB 

eforeSpace:0><tAfterSpace:0>><ColStart:<tColAttrWidth:270>><ColStart:<tCol 

AttrWidth:270>><RowStart:<tRowAttrHeight:43.200000>><CellStart:1,1<tCellAttrL 

eftInset:0><tCellAttrTopInset:0><tCellAttrRightInset:0><tCellAttrBottomInset:0.0 

00000><tCellAttrLeftStrokeWeight:0><tCellAttrRightStrokeWeight:0><tCellAttrTopStrokeWei 

ght:0><tCellAttrBottomStrokeWeight:0><tCellLeftStrokeColor:Black><tCellTopStrokeColor:B 

lack><tCellRightStrokeColor:Black><tCellBottomStrokeColor:Black><tcLeftStrokeType:Solid><tcRightSt 

rokeType:Solid><tcTopStrokeType:Solid><tcBottomStrokeType:Solid><tTextCellFirstLineOffset:0><tCell 

AttrLeftStrokeTint:100><tCellAttrRightStrokeTint:100><tCellAttrTopStrokeTint:100>&l 

t;tCellAttrBottomStrokeTint:100>><ParaStyle:subhead\_column\_one>Subhead <ParaStyle:row\_one>This is the first column of the first row of an example table. A table cell can contain  

any text  

formatting.<CellEnd:><CellStart:1,1<tCellAttrLeftInset:0><tCellAttrTopInset:0 

<tCellAttrRightInset:0><tCellAttrBottomInset:0><tCellAttrLeftStrokeWeight:0.000   

000><tCellAttrRightStrokeWeight:0><tCellAttrTopStrokeWeight:0><tCellAttrBottomStrokeWei 

ght:0><tCellLeftStrokeColor:Black><tCellTopStrokeColor:Black><tCellRightStrokeColor:Black>< 

tCellBottomStrokeColor:Black><tcLeftStrokeType:Solid><tcRightStrokeType:Solid><tcTopStrokeType:Solid> 

<tcBottomStrokeType:Solid><tTextCellFirstLineOffset:0><tCellAttrLeftStrokeTint:100><tCellAt 

trRightStrokeTint:100><tCellAttrTopStrokeTint:100><tCellAttrBottomStrokeTint:100>>& 

lt;ParaStyle:subhead\_column\_two>Subhead <ParaStyle:row\_two>This is the second column of an example  

table.<CellEnd:><RowEnd:><RowStart:<tRowAttrHeight:28.800000>><CellStart:1,1<t 

CellAttrLeftInset:0><tCellAttrTopInset:0><tCellAttrRightInset:0><tCellAttrBottom 

Inset:0><tCellAttrLeftStrokeWeight:0><tCellAttrRightStrokeWeight:0><tCellAttrTop 

StrokeWeight:0><tCellAttrBottomStrokeWeight:0><tCellLeftStrokeColor:Black><tCellTopStro 

keColor:Black><tCellRightStrokeColor:Black><tCellBottomStrokeColor:Black><tcLeftStrokeType:Solid>< 

tcRightStrokeType:Solid><tcTopStrokeType:Solid><tcBottomStrokeType:Solid><tTextCellFirstLineOffset:0> 

<tCellAttrLeftStrokeTint:100><tCellAttrRightStrokeTint:100><tCellAttrTopStrokeTint:100. 

000000><tCellAttrBottomStrokeTint:100>><ParaStyle:row\_one>This is the first column of the second  

row of an example  

table<CellEnd:><CellStart:1,1<tCellAttrLeftInset:0><tCellAttrTopInset:0.00000 

0><tCellAttrRightInset:0><tCellAttrBottomInset:0><tCellAttrLeftStrokeWeight:0>&l 

t;tCellAttrRightStrokeWeight:0><tCellAttrTopStrokeWeight:0><tCellAttrBottomStrokeWeight:0. 

000000><tCellLeftStrokeColor:Black><tCellTopStrokeColor:Black><tCellRightStrokeColor:Black><tCellB 

ottomStrokeColor:Black><tcLeftStrokeType:Solid><tcRightStrokeType:Solid><tcTopStrokeType:Solid><tc 

BottomStrokeType:Solid><tTextCellFirstLineOffset:0><tCellAttrLeftStrokeTint:100><tCellAttrRigh 

tStrokeTint:100><tCellAttrTopStrokeTint:100><tCellAttrBottomStrokeTint:100>><Par 

aStyle:row\_two>This is the second column of the second row of an example  

table.<CellEnd:><RowEnd:><TableEnd:> <ParaStyle:body\_text>This is the paragraph following the side-by-side text.  Thanks, 

Ole